GROUP REACTS OVER AISHA BUHARI ACTING AS PRESIDENT, EL- RUFAI VP ROLES

The alleged claims that wife of the president, Aisha Buhari is acting as president while Governor Mallam Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state functions as vice president, has been greeted with repulsion by the Arewa Youth Integrity Forum (AYIF).

In a statement on Thursday, June 16, by the national president of the forum, Comrade Ibrahim Abubakar, the group said that those behind the allegations are the ones painting the northern part of the country as politically domineering, Vanguard reports. According to the group, those behind the claims are attempting to cause disaffection and a disregard to the constitution.

The statement from the group read: “All Nigerians, the right thinking ones, are aware that President Muhammadu Buhari is President and Commander- in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria with Professor Yemi Osinbajo as Vice President. In a record making move, President Muhammadu Buhari properly notified the National Assembly of his ten-day medical leave and Professor Osinbajo’s status as acting President in that time span.”

“This kind of wicked rumour is making the rounds at a time when Nigerians, especially from within his party, should support Mr President with prayers. “We have it on good authority that those behind the rumour are political terrorists that are highly placed persons in the All Progressives Congress (APC) who want to plunge the country into crisis in pursuit of their personal agenda.

“It is appalling that people can advertise their ignorance on an unprecedented scale by claiming Mrs Buhari is the one acting as President. The only logical explanation other than crass ignorance is that this claim is being made out of malice and mischief.

“This latest allegation is the latest in a series of smear campaign that has consistently sought to undermine Aisha Buhari’s family life. It however went beyond bounds this time around by trying to precipitate a national crisis by attempting to play on the minds of Nigerians by conjuring a past era that has no similarity with our current scenario.

“They must also allow Mallam el-Rufai to concentrate on repositioning Kaduna state in line with the mandate the people of the state gave him. Dragging him into this campaign of mischief will not give it any additional traction since he is too much of a gentleman to breach the laws of the land on the scale conjured up by the fevered imagination of these political terrorists.

“The forum however challenged anyone who thinks they have tangible evidence against the wife of the President to boldly step into the public space and openly present same with verifiable identity instead of contriving and circulating falsehood through obscure platforms.”

Arewa youth’s statement comes on the heels of information gathered that the recent meeting the acting president Prof Yemi Osinbajo held with Service Chiefs and South-South governors caused ripples in the presidency, especially in the president’s kitchen cabinet.

Media reports in some quarters had it that a visibly angry Gov El-Rufai and Aisha Buhari confronted Osinbajo to inquire on whose authority he relied on to exercise such sensitive power. The acting president was shocked that some highly placed people misunderstood his intention for summoning the security meeting.